Civic Engagement Essay

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Traditional civic engagement practices are changing due to the permanent disruption in communication patterns and information caused by social media. Social media is seen as a new arena for civic participation, especially relevant for youth. As reported by Skoric (2015), social media provide a space to stimulate youth engagement for active participation and public debate. Given that the increasing ubiquity of social media platforms to provide space for public discussion, Zhang (2013) argues that there’s a rise in the spread of political news around social media platforms. Besides, video games are immensely popular and can be a great way to educate and inspire youth on civic issues (Kahne, Middaugh & Evans, 2009). Given that social media platforms have grown more prominent in political affairs, by capitalizing on the trends, Singapore People’s Party will enable wider civic …show more content…

Social media provides rich opportunities for youth to get engaged in civic participation by providing space for public debate and political discussions. Skoric (2015) points out that “… scholars have focused on new media forms as a locus for areas of civic and political participation” (p. 187). As reported by Lin, Cheong, Kim and Jung (2010), there is a positive association between the social media use and civic participation. For instance, social media platforms provide a huge amount of political information, from news on politics to political campaigns (Skoric, 2015). With today’s widespread use of social media platforms, heavy social media users, especially youth, are actively exposed to political information. Zhang (2013) argues that “… [Youth] was far more actively involved in online politics” (p. 257). Therefore, it will be beneficial for Singapore People’s Party to capitalize on this trend so as to create possibilities and awareness for greater youth

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